On November 1, 2023 – to celebrate 60 years of the Doctor – the BBC delighted Whovians all over the UK by placing the whole available Doctor Who archive on to its BBC iPlayer streaming platform. Meaning you can now watch Doctor Who online at your leisure.
You can watch Doctor Who episodes for FREE in the UK on the BBC iPlayer streaming service. But don't worry if you're on holiday when you want to watch because you can watch Doctor Who on BBC iPlayer from anywhere with a VPN.
US: NBC (via Sling/Fubo)
UK: iPlayer (free with licence fee)
AU: 9Now (free)
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
All the way from William Hartnell's first outings in the Tardis back in 1963, through Patrick Troughton, the Bakers, Christopher Eccleston's 21st century revival and right up to Jodie Whittaker – all of the Time Lord's iterations and faithful companions are present. Not to mention a whole host of fiendish foes, including Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and The Master.
Whoever your Doctor is (Sylvester McCoy for this author!), clear a space behind the sofa and prepare to indulge in pure nostalgia. Or perhaps you're a completist who still has some episodes to tick off the list. And if you're coming to Doctor Who for the first time, there's over 800 episodes to work through...
In addition to canonical Doctor Who episodes, BBC iPlayer has also added loads more associated programming to its hub, such as Torchwood, Class, The Sarah Jane Adventures and loads of documentary content, too.
Ready to settle in with K9 and start watching? Here's how to watch Doctor Who from anywhere in the world. We've got all the information you'll need below.
How to watch Doctor Who in the UK for free
It's free to watch the BBC's vast Doctor Who archive in the UK thanks to the brilliant BBC iPlayer (so long as you have a valid TV licence, of course).
As well as web browsers and its smartphone/tablet app, the iPlayer has apps for most streaming devices – from Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast, to games consoles and Smart TVs.
The only available episodes that aren't included are the very first four – the 'An Unearthly Child' episodes. For those, you'll need access to Britbox. It costs £5.99 a month, but also has the benefit of a 7-day free trial.
If you're trying to access iPlayer while outside the UK, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad. Instructions below...
How to watch Doctor Who in the US
Things are a little more disjointed for Doctor Who fans in the US. All of the historic episodes are available to watch, but they're spread across two streaming services.
If all you're interested in is the modern era (i.e. 2005/Christopher Eccleston onwards) it's all on HBO's Max streaming service, with plans starting from $9.99 a month.
For everything before that – so the first eight Doctors from 1963 to 1989 – you'll need Britbox. Plans cost $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year. But you also get a free 7-day trial to watch as many episodes as possible in. No time travel required!
And note that Britbox actually has the very first four 'An Unearthly Child' episodes that don't appear on the iPlayer in the UK.
Just be aware that all new episodes of Doctor Who from November 2023 onwards will be on Disney Plus in the US, after a broadcasting agreement was announced late last year.
Don't forget that if you're overseas and find geo-restrictions getting in your way, you can use a VPN to virtually relocate back to your home country and watch as if you were back there.
How to watch Doctor Who in Australia
In Australia, you get a choice of streaming services to watch all episodes from 2005 onwards. You can go for Binge, Foxtel Now or Stan.
Each costs around the same and they all have a free trial to take advantage of, too. Binge costs from $10 a month and has a 14-day trial, while Stan also starts from $10 but has a more generous 30-day trial period. You can try Foxtel Now free for 10 days, but it's more expensive thereafter with plans from $25.
Note that all new episodes from November 2023 are coming out exclusively on Disney Plus in Australia.
Unfortunately, the only current way to watch classic Doctor Who (i.e. pre-1990) is to buy or rent them episode-by-episode from places like Amazon Prime Video or iTunes.
How to watch Doctor Who from anywhere with a VPN
You can watch Doctor Who on any of the streaming services above no matter where you are in the world, and all with one clever little tool. And it's not a sonic screwdriver!
Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.
Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
Doctor Who: all you need to know
What are the 60th anniversary Doctor Who specials?
To celebrate the Doctor's 60th birthday, the BBC will air a trilogy of brand new episodes between November 25 and December 9.
David Tennant will reprise his titular role, becoming the first actor to play two incarnations of the Doctor (10th and 14th). His companion will see Catherine Tate reprising her role as Donna Noble. It is expected that Ncuti Gatwa will make his first appearance as the Doctor.
In the UK, the anniversary specials will be broadcast on BBC One and available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Globally, these will be the first Doctor Who episodes to land exclusively on Disney Plus.
Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode guide:
- Episode 1: "The Star Beast" - November 25
- Episode 2: "Wild Blue Yonder" - December 2
- Episode 3: "The Giggle" - December 9
When is the next full series of Doctor Who?
Following the 60th anniversary episodes and 2023 Christmas special, the full adventures of the 15th Doctor will begin in 2024.
The season 14 air date is yet to be revealed, but is expected in the spring.
What are the Doctor Who missing episodes?
The so-called 'missing episodes' of Doctor Who have taken on an almost mythical status among Whovians. Because the BBC didn't always keep archive programming in the 1960s and 1970s, some episodes were deleted entirely.
There are 97 missing episodes in total. There were originally 156, but a large number of them were 'recovered' from global TV stations and by fans who had recorded them at the time from the the TV.
Many missing episodes have also been reconstructed as animations.
For more information on Doctor Who's missing episodes, click the link for our full explainer.
What is the order of the Doctors?
Who is the next Doctor?
31-year-old Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa will enter the Tardis for the first time as the 15th Doctor during the 60th anniversary episodes.
Gatwa is best known for his role as Eric Effiong in the Netflix series Sex Education. he also appeared as one of the Kens in 2023's Barbie movie.
He will be the first black actor to portray the Doctor, as well as the first openly gay person to do so.
Gatwa's companion will be Millie Gibson, playing Ruby Sunday. Gibson is best known for award-winning turn as Kelly Neelan in British soap Coronation Street.
Where can I watch old Doctor Who?
As explained above, the whole catalogue of classic Doctor Who episodes (except the very first four) were put on to the BBC iPlayer in the UK in November 2023.
Around the world, old Doctor Who episodes are generally available for purchase or rental on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
Does Netflix have Doctor Who?
Doctor Who seasons used to be available to Netflix subscribers, but they were removed from the streaming giant a few years ago.
What is the best Doctor Who episode
With over 800 episodes (and counting!) of Doctor Who to choose from and with everybody having their own favorite Doctor, picking the best is a virtually impossible task.
But these are the top 10 best Doctor Who episodes according to IMDB:
